I can't print to my brother HL-5140 from any program on my computer. The computer sees the printer, and the print dialog shows that everything is working, but the printer isn't receiving any data and isn't printing.

Help?

Yes, the printer is turned on...

Try installing these packages:

cupsys
cupsys-bsd
python-dev
python-qt3
libsnmp5-dev
libcupsys2-dev
lsb
hp-ppd
hpijs
hplip
hplip-base
hplip-data

I had a similar issue with a lexmark printer....

My cd-rom won't mount, I changed the secondary master to a different drive in an attempt to be able to load it through there, and it still won't mount!

I tried creating a local directory through APT to install the files from, but the error I recieved was:

Binary dir debs not found

I'd modify my /etc/apt/sources.list file, but I have no idea how to do that.

Why do you need your CD-Rom to install the files to get your printer working? This might be a separate issue unless there is something I am missing. You also don't need to modify your sources list from the default as all of these files are on the default repositories. If you want to comment out your CD ROM from the sources.list, open your list with a text editor, add a # in front of the CD-Rom entry, save it and close. Do all of this as root:

#pico /etc/apt/sources.list

To install the files above, just do an update then an install:

#apt-get update

#apt-get install cupsys cupsys-bsd python-dev python-qt3 libsnmp5-dev libcupsys2-dev lsb

After that, go to http://localhost:631 and see if you can add your printer. You will not need to install any of the hp***** files on that list below as those are for Hewlett Packard printers. Try this and let us know if it worked. If not, be sure to include what did work and what didn't as well as error messages.

Good Luck!

It is a seperate issue.

How to I update the sources.list file from a text editor aside from adding the #?
I don't understand how to access it. Could you please explain it?

To add your installation cd-roms, "su" to root and do "apt-cdrom add". It should ask you to insert cd-roms to be added to /etc/apt/sources.list.

You can also add new entries (as root) to /etc/apt/sources.list with the "apt-setup" command. These new entries will point to "stable" APT repositories. You can change them afterwards by using a text editor (for example, "nano /etc/apt/sources.list") and changing every "stable" word in /etc/apt/sources.list either to "testing" or "unstable", if that is your desire.

When adding a new printer, first you need to install all the necessary packages. To do this, type "aptitude" (and press enter), then scroll with the down arrow key to the Tasks section and select with Enter the section Print Server. Press "+" for every package in that section so that the packages become highlighted in green. Then press the "g" key twice. (If it asks for the root user's password, type it). After pressing the "g" key once, you have the chance to view also the list of suggested packages (at the bottom of the list). You may want to add some of those, too, with the "+" key before proceeding to press "g" for the second time.

Then reboot your computer with the printer connected and with power on, so that debian can detect your printer. After that you should be able to configure the printer by pointing your web browser to http://localhost:631/admin . If you have previous printer configurations, you should probably remove them before re-configuring the printer.

EDIT:
Oh, and like Tons of Fun explained, you should always update your APT sources with "apt-get update" and "apt-get dist-upgrade" before installing any new packages.

Thank you so much for the exceedingly explicit instructions!

Everything is downloading, I'll post after I locate the printer and everything to see if it works.... I'm sure it will, though.

Okay, it worked. For future reference-- don't use the recommended driver... use the Brother HL-5140 Foomatic/hpijs driver, the hl1250 didn't work after the packages were updated, but the hpijs did...

That's what I love about this forum. I finally get to a point with Debian that I can start helping and what happens? I extend a hand to help someone out and I end up learning something new. I didn't know about apt-setup. I always edit my sources.list manually. Now I have something new to play with.